Google Set To Launch Media Storage Into The Cloud

May 10, 2011

Amazon was the first to open up a large-scale cloud-based music streaming service which allows users to store digital music online and Apple is quickly moving to begin its version of a similar program within the next few months. Google, however, is set to announce its own streaming music storage service at the on-going I/O developers conference, Reuters is reporting.

“Google Android Music” will allow music bought from Amazon or Apple’s iTunes, or uploaded from a personal collection, to be held in a digital “music locker” on the internet which can be accessed from computers running Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Chrome Web browsers.

Google has yet to secure licenses from any of the major record companies and so to begin with, music files can only be streamed after uploading and not downloaded. A testing phase will be initially released with a full-featured public release at a later date, AFP reports.

Competition in music services is a major industry focus and is set to dominate much of the I/O conference. Apple is expected to announce an upgrade to its music services next month, and Spotify has already launched a preemptive strike with its newest version of its music streaming service, The Telegraph is reporting.

Google announced Google TV at last year’s I/O and an updated version is also set to be previewed this week.

Google is also moving into new forms of entertainment to diversify its revenue, boost ad sales and keep users on its sites for longer. Google-owned YouTube announced it would be adding “The King’s Speech,” “Inception” and about 3,000 other titles to its movie-rental service. This has accelerated YouTube’s focus into Hollywood entertainment and increased its rivalry with Netflix, Bloomberg reports.